Later that day, Wolf rushes down the hall with an excited look on her face before jumping in front of Phoenix shouting her name.
“Phoenix, hey!” She shouts as Phoenix trips over herself and gets a shocked look as she tumbles over on top of Wolf, hitting the ground with a thud. She rubs her head as she sits on Wolf who’s eyes swirl.
“Ah! Wolfy, are you okay?” She gets up quickly and helps Wolf to her feet. Wolf shakes her head before her smile returns.
“Yeah of course! Not like your big butt could hurt me, haha!” Wolf laughs. Phoenix gets an irritated look but controls her anger.
“Was there a point to you bothering me?..” She asks through gritted teeth.
“Oh! Right, I was wondering if you wanted to hangout again today? I wanted to show you something.” She asks as Phoenix calms down and smiles a bit. Suddenly, another voice calls out.
“Oh no you don’t!” Saika shouts while jumping on her back and yanking her backwards. “You said you were coming with Killian and I to see The Final Wish!” Saika shouts.
“We can just go another time!” Wolf groans back. “Hold on, you made plans on a training day?” Another voice speaks up. Moshiro approaches them as Killian and Tadashi come from behind. “You are coming to training. I’m not getting yelled at again for you. Just go afterwards.” Moshiro says.
“Wow Wolf, you really planned on skipping today?” Killian teases. Moshiro glares at him with an angry look.
“Saika said you were going too, so shut up.” She says, snappy. Killian laughs nervously before shutting up and looking away.
“Haha.. right.”
“No way! The late showing is lame! All the snacks are gone by then!” Saika whines.
“But the vibes are so much nicer.” Tadashi points out. Saika thinks about it and starts to agree.
“Okay, yeah I guess you’re right.” Saika says. Wolf struggles to pull him off of her.
“I’m not going anywhere! I got plans with Phoenix tonight!” She says.
“Plans you just made right now.” Killian says.
“Exactly!” Wolf responds with a sharp smile and a finger point.
“You’re going to training. Whether you like it or not.” Moshiro commands before grabbing Wolf by the wrist and pulling her along, Saika still on her back. Wolf begins to groan as they walk away.
“Looks like Saika is joining you guys this time. Mind if I come too?” Phoenix asks as Killian looks surprised before smiling a big smile.
“Sure! You can watch us beat up on Wolf all night!” He says while slapping her on the back a bit too hard. Phoenix stumbles a step from the force with a softly irritated look but smiles anyway.
“Thanks.” She says as they follow the others off to the dojo on this school day afternoon.
They eventually get to the dojo where Teach is standing, waiting for them with a smile on his face.
“Nice of you to actually show up this time. And it seems you’ve brought Phoenix and Saika again!” Teach says happily as he looks at them. Phoenix smiles with her hands up defensively.
“Oh no, lessons once a week are more than enough, thanks.” Phoenix says with a sweat.
“Yeah, we’re just observers today.” Saika says happily.
“Are you sure? There is never any harm in some extra training.” Teach offers. Saika and Phoenix look past Teach and see Killian wave his hand at Tadashi, who is holding a shinai, and raises his fists as if challenging him. Tadashi smirks before preparing the shinai and swinging it at him, smacking Killian across the face a couple times before he hits the ground with Wolf and Moshiro giggling a bit. They sweat watching this and look back at Teach.
“Yeah, I think there is harm. Lots of it…” Phoenix says with a droop. Teach shrugs and turns away from them.
“You are always welcome to hop in anytime.” He looks at them over his shoulder with a proud look. “Because the potential inside your Souls is just as strong as theirs.” He says warmly. Their eyes widen with shine in them.
“You really think so?..” Phoenix asks softly.
“I know so.” Teach says with a smile as he walks away. Their eyes continue to shine a bit as Phoenix looks down at her hands.
“I have potential… like them?..” She says softly before hearing a man’s voice in her head.
“It’s better to keep your expectations low, for someone like you.”
Her eyes stop shining as she clenches her fist with a pained look.
“If only my own father would think so…” She says under her breath with a sad tone as Saika looks at her softly.
Eventually, the group is let out of training and they all go their separate ways. Phoenix waits as Wolf steps next to her, rubbing her face with a pained look.
“I guess Killian’s punch did more damage than you thought, huh?” Phoenix teases.
“Yeah, he might not be all that smart but fuck, is that boy strong.” Wolf complains. Phoenix giggles as they begin walking home together.
“So, did you still want to hangout tonight?” Phoenix asks. Wolf’s face lights up.
“Oh yeah! I totally forgot about that!” She says happily. Phoenix sweats a bit with a soft smile as Wolf jumps in front of her with an excited look. “I want to show you something.” Wolf says with a smile. Phoenix looks surprised but nods.
As the night deepens, Wolf crouches on a stone wall by a park as Phoenix leans against it.
“Okay, you got me out here in the middle of the night in the dark by myself. Now what’re we doing?” Phoenix asks, slightly annoyed as Wolf examines the area with an excited look.
“We’re hunting.” She says. Phoenix looks at her confused before Wolf notices something. “There!”
She jumps down as Phoenix looks at the man she pointed to. He’s dressed in all black and looks shifty.
“Okay, we’re hunting… weirdos?” Phoenix asks with a confused look.
“Hehe not quite. You can come with or just wait, it won’t be long.” Wolf offers. Phoenix sighs and crosses her arms.
“Knock yourself out.” She says. Wolf chuckles before rushing after the man as he enters a small apartment complex. Phoenix watches until a couple people approach her from the dark of the street.
“Well, check this out. Just what is a cutie like you doing out here this late at night?” The obviously intoxicated person says. Phoenix looks over with an unamused look on her face.
“Just how many assholes does this city have?..” she asks under her breath.
“Hey, I gots an idea. Why don’t you come and join our little circle of friends? We could have a great time together.” The other guy offers as they surround her. Phoenix chuckles a bit.
“I can only imagine how much jerking is done in that circle.” She says. The guys look surprised.
“What did you say?”
“Just c’monnn. We’ll show you!” One guys says as he grabs her wrist. Phoenix looks completely unamused by this action before looking back at them.
Across the street, the shifty man pulls out some keys to open the door in front of him as Wolf crouches on a bar above and behind him.
“Hey.” She says. The man turns around and looks at Wolf casually.
“Hey, what’s up?” He says. He then turns back to open the door before shouting and stumbling backwards, away from the door and Wolf. “Ah! It’s you!”
“Yep, bet you heard what I did to the last guys who didn’t pay their deals.”
“Hey, I ain’t paying that deal! It was completely bogus!” He shouts back.
“Look man, I don’t care either way. Unfortunately, someone else paid good money to make you pay one way or another. So you can either give me back the stuff you stole or I can take it.” Wolf says casually.
The man gets a stressed look before whipping his arms down revealing black metallic batons with green lighting running across them as small sparks burst off of them.
“I ain’t paying shit.” He says firmly. Wolf smirks before rolling her eyes.
“Take it, it is.” She says quietly before falling backwards from the rail but before falling off, she completely flips herself under it and uses it to propel herself off and at the man. He shouts as it goes black.
The next thing happening is Wolf walking away from the complex and back towards Phoenix, the black batons in her hand. Wolf smiles before noticing the two people on the ground next to Phoenix.
“Woah, what happened here?” Wolf asks. Phoenix looks surprised before looking at the people then back at Wolf.
“Oh, nothing. What happened there?” She asks, motioning towards the batons. Wolf smirks.
“Work.” She says. Phoenix gets a surprised look by her words. “Come on, check this out.” Wolf says before walking off, waving her to follow.
They make their way to the same kiosk Wolf went to before and she knocks on the metal shutter. After a moment, it opens up with the same man attending it.
“626. Pleasure to see you again.”
Wolf puts the batons in the compartment and is paid for her work the same as before just with far less words. Phoenix stands back a little with her back turned, curious as to what she’s doing as Wolf approaches her with a pleased smile on her face.
“Yo Phoenix, check this out! Ever wonder how I always have money for the things we do?” Wolf asks enthusiastically. Phoenix turns around as Wolf shows her the money she just received. Phoenix’s face lights up with shock and surprise.
“500 Isos?? Where did you get that??” She asks. Wolf snickers as she shoves the money in her pockets. Phoenix’s face then drops. “Wait, hold on. Did you.. Beat that guy up for money?”
“Well, I mean, he was asking for it. And look at all this money!” Wolf says with a smile. Phoenix looks shocked.
“Wolf.” She says.
“I wanted to show this to you because doing this, I can get money using my strength!” Wolf explains happily as Phoenix’s look sharpens more seriously.
“Wolf.” Her eyes show mix of concern and frustration as Wolf continues, not noticing her gaze.
“By doing this, I can just focus on protecting my friends and you won’t have to worry about my future-”
Before she can continue, Phoenix slaps Wolf across the face, knocking her over on her butt. Wolf is stunned and looks up at Phoenix with shock and confusion as Phoenix has an extremely disapproving look on her face.
“This is no way to use your strength!” She shouts angrily. Wolf stares at her as she struggles to find a way to respond. Phoenix huffs as she grabs Wolf by the hood and begins dragging her back home. “Getting mixed up in organized crime, hurting people you don’t even know, hurting yourself! It’s irresponsible and wrong and jeopardizes my future! I can’t afford to get mixed up in this!” She scolds her as Wolf looks confused.
‘I thought… she would be happy…’ She thinks as she lowers her head, her bangs covering her eyes. “I’m sorry…” Wolf basically whispers. Phoenix looks back over her shoulder at Wolf as her look softens a bit but she doesn’t respond as they go back home.
Outside of Wolf’s home, they both walk up to the door together in awkward silence. Wolf digs in her pocket for her key as Phoenix looks at her with an almost regretful look.
“Wolfy, I’m sorry I hit you. I-”
“No, it’s okay. I get it. I’m sorry for putting you in that position. It was dumb and selfish anyway. I shouldn’t have done it.” Wolf says clearly without looking at her. Phoenix looks at her as she responds with her back towards her. She hesitates for a moment before speaking again.
“I don’t want you to feel dumb but you have to think more about what you’re doing. This stuff could have serious consequences.” She tugs on Wolf’s sleeve to get her to turn which she does. Phoenix gives her a soft smile which causes Wolf to smile back.
“Yeah.. I know…” Wolf says. She looks back at the house then back at Phoenix. “So… do you want to spend the night?” She asks shyly. Phoenix smiles and shakes her head slightly.
“No.. I should probably get back home. I bet Poppy isn’t even in bed yet.” She laughs a little before waving to Wolf and walking away. Wolf waves back and watches her go for a moment before dropping her hand and her expression. Wolf lowers her head a little as she stares at nothing. She pulls out the Isos from her pocket and looks at them for a moment before putting them back in her pocket and rushing off back into the night.